The form of the building takes inspiration from the structure and geometry of a fallen, folded leaf. The large angular deck folds back on itself to form the canopy above, both of which are constructed to allow for the free flow of sunlight and rain water, and the unique visible steel structure of the building is reminiscent of the leaf’s skeletal veins.

(via Flickr)

Here’s something really cool: the Pavilion will be a LEED certified structure, with careful attention paid to environmental sensitivity and energy efficiency throughout the design and construction process. To find out more about the eco-friendliness of the Pavilion, click HERE.

And since you’re here, check out this conversation between architect Marlon Blackwell and structural engineer Guy Nordensen:

This is the second TAP tour we’ve done for an exhibition, and another major accomplishment for the Nugget Factory. NF FTW! As with any project, the second go-around always seems a little smoother. We certainly couldn’t have done it without the collaborative spirit of the contemporary department. Also, big ups to our applications team for some slick interface modifications to the TAP software. Did I mention the entire software development, content production and implementation was done entirely in-house?

Another difference you’ll notice if you took the Sacred Spain tour last winter is that this tour focuses more on the visitor’s interpretation and experience and offers many different perspectives.

You’ll hear voices from curatorial, design, education, and conservation at the IMA. One of those voices is IMA’s Phil Lynam, Manager of Art and Design Education. We hope this sample stop will entice you to TAP into Tara Donovan:Untitled at the IMA. Listen below:

Stay tuned for more exciting news about TAP!

Interview with Oguri

What’s your mission, or hope, as an artist?
Dance. Basically I feel inspired to dance. I began dancing with Body Weather and Tatsumi Hijikata’s  work, but it was not to learn a kind of tradition or to be a ‘dancer’. I was attracted by the spirit and community. Body Weather does not teach one how to move but is an investigation of the body through working with and learning from others and explores the connection of body to space. A lot of people connect Butoh with the atomic bomb and Hiroshima, and I want to make it clear that that is a misunderstanding. Of course that is a very strong human experience and everything is related, but Butoh is not a direct expression for that. Rather the dance is a possibility for human understanding. Butoh is revolutionary, but it just means ‘dance’. Dance doesn’t have a goal. I work between my body and myself.

How did Caddy! Caddy! Caddy! come to be?
Because of my interest in William Faulkner.

How does Caddy! relate to the Japanese performing arts tradition?
I found Faulkner through Japanese literature. Oe and Nakagami  were inspired by him, and if they are like my fathers, I wanted to meet my grandfather. When Faulkner visited Japan in the mid-1950s after World War II, he said I am like you. I come from the south–the losers country. There is physicality in Oe and Nakagami’s work, and for me that is dance.  I find the same thing in Faulkner’s work.

What influence has Butoh had on you as a performing artist?
Butoh is respect of Tatsumi Hijikata’s dance. In Japan, there was folkdance, ballet, and modern dance. There was a society where performers presented seven-minute pieces for a classy, sophisticated audience. Hijikata comes along half naked and shines the light in the audience’s eyes. He brought the idea of homosexuality and sex and eroticism on stage. He killed a chicken on stage, and the little girls fainted and he was kicked out. After he was expelled, people sought him out because he seemed so cool, and at the time, many people had the same antiestablishment sense. He did a lot of collaborations and events, but it was very avant-garde, very strong cutting edge work.

This year’s Spirit & Place theme is “Inspiring Places.” Does Caddy! take its sense of place from Faulkner’s writing?
William Faulkner lived his entire life in one small county town. From there he created hundreds of characters and lives full of memories and imagination. He invented a fictional place, Yoknapawtawpha, that the reader feels and travels through. In the dance we carry the spirit of the stories.

Can you describe what it’s like to perform this piece?
I have the opportunity to be in Faulkner’s imagination, to dance his stories in space and explore many different characters and the strength and depth of humanity.

What do you ask of the audience who attends this performance?
If you have a chance, please read Faulkner.

Caddy! Caddy! Caddy! The William Faulkner Dance Project is Saturday, November 7 at 7 pm in The Toby. Tickets are $10 for the public and $7 for IMA members. Purchase tickets online

BONUS: Show any Toby ticket stub and receive half off the ticket price for Caddy!